Healthcare


  • NHS Digital does new cyber security deal with Microsoft

    August 16, 2017

    NHS Digital has set up an agreement with Microsoft that will provide support in detecting cyber threats to IT systems relying on outdated operating systems until the middle of next year The provider of data and IT services for health and social care bodies has reached a custom support agreement with the software giant that will ...

  • Exploits Available for Siemens Molecular Imaging Vulnerabilities

    August 4, 2017

    Siemens is readying patches for a number of vulnerabilities in its molecular imaging products, including some where public exploits are available. Advisories published Thursday by the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) indicate that the flaws are remotely exploitable. “Siemens is preparing updates for the affected products and recommends protecting network access to the Molecular ...

  • Dubai Health Authority (DHA) launches information security project

    July 30, 2017

    The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has launched an information security project, which comes in line with the Dubai Cyber Security Strategy. The strategy was launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with an aim to strengthen Dubai’s position as a world leader ...

  • Healthcare executives are investing heavily in cybersecurity technology but analysts worry that approach is shortsighted

    July 28, 2017

    Healthcare executives report a growing number of cyberattacks against their organizations over the past two years, and the vast majority have countered with larger cybersecurity investments to combat those threats. But analysts say that funding is concentrated too heavily on technology and not enough on staffing. Two-thirds of healthcare organizations have invested in information security over the past ...

  • Medical technology is advancing, but how secure is it?

    July 25, 2017

    We’re fortunate to live in an age when medical technology is hyper-advanced and continuing to innovate rapidly. Today, depending on where you live, you may expect to live to be up to 80 years or older; but just a hundred years ago, most people didn’t make it beyond the age of 50. Obviously researchers, medical professionals, ...

  • Lloyd’s says cyber-attack could cost $120bn, same as Hurricane Katrina

    July 17, 2017

    Lloyd’s of London has warned that a serious cyber-attack could cost the global economy more than $120bn (£92bn) – as much as catastrophic natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Published two months after a ransomware cyber-attack that hobbled NHS hospitals and hit nearly 100 countries, a 56-page report from the world’s oldest insurance market ...

  • Siemens Patches Authentication Bypass Flaw in SiPass Server

    July 14, 2017

    A handful of vulnerabilities in Siemens’ SiPass integrated server have been patched, including one that allows an attacker to bypass authentication on the box. SiPass is the company’s integrated access control server managing physical access in a number of industries and use cases. The product supports card readers and integrates with video surveillance equipment, among other ...

  • Medicare data leaks, but who was breached?

    July 4, 2017

    Medicare numbers in Australia became a lot less useful as a proof-of-identity, with the Australian Federal Police investigating how an unknown number of records ended up for sale on a Tor site. The report first surfaced via The Guardian’s Australian site, with journalist Paul Farrell reporting he purchased his own record for around AU$30 on the ...

  • Call for investment in NHS cybersecurity

    June 20, 2017

    A “massive” increase in spending is needed to prevent another “avoidable” cyber attack on NHS computer systems, an expert has warned. A ransomware attack hit 11 health boards in Scotland last month, as well as many other organisations worldwide. Prof Bill Buchanan told MSPs the attack should act as a “wake-up call” to the government and health ...

  • Federal task force: Here’s how to fix healthcare cybersecurity

    June 6, 2017

    A federal task force released its long-awaited cybersecurity recommendations report Friday evening. The far-reaching report from the Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force was mandated by the Cybersecurity Act of 2015. The task force convened 21 wide-ranging stakeholders in medical cybersecurity, ranging from device manufacturers to hospitals to consumer advocates. Workforce issues are the “most foundational problem” for ...

  • HHS task force wants cybersecurity treated as a patient safety issue

    June 2, 2017

    The Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force today released the final version of its cybersecurity report, calling on the government to write policies that would help healthcare organizations boost their defenses—a need made even more evident after last month’s WannaCry ransomware attacks. The final report, which was mandated by the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2016, ...

  • Naked photos and personal info from thousands of plastic surgery patients including dozens of celebrities and 1,500 Britons are published on the dark web

    May 30, 2017

    Hackers have published naked photos of thousands of plastic surgery patients who had work done at a Lithuanian clinic, it has been reported. Local authorities said more than 25,000 private photos and pieces of personal information from the Kaunas-based Grozio Chirurgija clinics were published on the internet. The leak includes intimate photos and data of more than ...

  • Medical device industry ‘not doing enough on cybersecurity’

    May 26, 2017

    The medical device industry appears to be under siege by cybercriminals, but it isn’t taking steps to defend itself, according to two separate reports. Over the next 12 months, two thirds of medical device manufacturers and more than half of healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs) say that a cyber-attack on one or more medical devices built or ...

  • FDA, Industry Look for Gaps in Cybersecurity

    May 18, 2017

    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday kicked off a fortuitously-timed public workshop on medical device cybersecurity, the agency’s third on the subject to date. At the workshop, FDA officials, representatives from industry and researchers are trying to determine the current gaps in regulatory science as it relates to cybersecurity with the aim of ...

  • Europol director calls on ‘all sectors’ to take cyber security threat seriously

    May 14, 2017

    The malware attack that paralysed parts of the NHS shows that “all sectors” should take cyber security “absolutely seriously”, the director of Europol has said, Speaking on ITV’s Peston on Sunday, Rob Wainwright warned the healthcare sector “in many countries” was particularly vulnerable, but that all organisations should ensure they prioritised cyber security and updated their ...

  • The government slashed NHS IT security contract despite warnings it would leave systems vulnerable to cyberattack

    May 13, 2017

    The UK government were repeatedly warned that NHS IT isystems were running on outdated operating systems that were vulnerable to attack, yet failed to ensure they were protected. Freedom of Information requests last sumer revealed that trusts across the country were still using Windows XP, despite a government contract with Microsoft to update protections for the system having ...

  • UK hospital meltdown after ransomware worm uses NSA vulnerability to raid IT

    May 12, 2017

    UK hospitals have effectively shut down and are turning away non-emergency patients after ransomware ransacked its networks. Some 16 NHS organizations across Blighty – including several hospital trusts such as NHS Mid-Essex CCG and East and North Hertfordshire – have had their files scrambled by a variant of the WannaCrypt, aka WanaCrypt aka Wcry, nasty. Users ...

  • Cyber security: an ‘indigestion problem’ in healthcare industry

    May 11, 2017

    In August 2011, Marc Andreessen famously wrote an essay in The Wall Street Journal, “Why Software is Eating the World”. It talked about the growing significance of software in business across a wide swathe of industries. Fast forward to the present day in 2017 and we can safely say that the process of eating is ...

  • Prognosis For Healthcare Cybersecurity Is Dire

    April 6, 2017

    On Wednesday (April 5), Terence Rice, VP and chief information security officer at Merck & Co., told the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that healthcare cybersecurity still has a long way to go. “Cybersecurity in the healthcare industry is far worse than what is reported,” Rice stated. Despite the fact ...

  • Internet-Connected Medical Washer-Disinfector Found Vulnerable to Hacking

    March 27, 2017

    Internet-of-Things devices are turning every industry into the computer industry, making customers think that their lives would be much easier with smart devices. There are, of course, some really good reasons to connect certain devices to the Internet. For example, remotely switching on your A/C a few minutes before you enter your home, instead of leaving ...